Accumulating devices (buffers) are known that are designed to receive as input flows of plane, generally rectangular, postal items (letters, postcards, documents enclosed in envelopes, etc.), which are stored inside the accumulating device, thus forming sets of postal items. In particular, it is known that postal items may be stored partially overlying one another (shingled), aligned along a basically rectilinear direction, with their front edges spaced by a controlled pitch. The sets of postal items are generally arranged along tracks of the accumulating device and may be transported towards outputs of the accumulating device, at which outputs the sets of postal items are subjected to singling to yield the single postal items to subsequent post-office machines.
In particular, it is known that accumulating devices can be used in combination with mail-sorting devices. According to this application, the mail-sorting devices receive as input single postal items coming from the accumulating device and are designed to feed each individual item towards a corresponding output of the mail-sorting device according to a code associated to the postal item (e.g., a bar code stamped on it) that identifies the postal destination of the item itself.
Conveniently, mail-sorting devices are provided with reading programmes which are able to recognize the code associated to the postal item so as to select a specific output towards which the postal item is to be sent.
A purpose of the present invention is to create a method for controlling an accumulating device which ma y achieve unloading of postal items towards the mail-sorting device with great efficiency.
A further purpose of the present invention is to create an accumulating device which enables the handling of a large number of postal items towards the highest possible number of destinations.
The former purpose is achieved by the present invention in that it regards a method for controlling an accumulating device of the type described in claim 1.